As a lecturer and licensed professional counsellor, Dr Chee Kwan Foong is extremely passionate about academic work and research that contribute to public mental health. Through her formal training in Counselling Psychology and fourteen years of mental health work experience, she has been able to contribute in a meaningful manner to society. As a lecturer for 13 years, she has constantly researched on how environmental factors (e.g., built environment, environment art and design) affect people's health and psychological well-being, as past findings have consistently suggested that well-designed physical settings and environment features foster positive psychological and health outcomes.

Her current research includes three core components – the first investigates the association between the social/physical environmental design of residential care homes for the elderly and the occupants’ psychological well-being. This is particularly important when the elderly in such homes do not have control over their physical environment. The second component focuses on ageing, in particular the needs and well-being of the elderly, and addressing issues like social isolation, loneliness, depressive symptoms, happiness and life satisfaction. The third component focuses on health and stigma. The lives of people with disease, disability and mental disorders/illness are worsened by stigma, subsequently leading to public/social prejudice, loss of self-worth and negative impacts towards the health and psychological well-being of the individual. This area investigates how stigma impacts the wellbeing of people with disease, disability and mental illness. Though primarily a quantitative researcher, Kwan Foong is also interested in work engaged with some aspect of mixed methodologies and working across disciplines.